Okay... sorry. But don't worry, school is out June 4th I'll be a senior! Woo hoo. so I can update more often. So get excited.
I want to thank everyone that have been reviewing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
But this chapter is really long, so ENJOY!
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The bus ride home was horrific. Collin and I talked and denied what each other said, which caused us to argue... a lot. I kept apologizing, but that didn't work. So I just ignored him till we got to my house, and he immediately ran home.
"So, Tori how was your day?" Kelly asked before taking in a mouth full of spaghetti. I snapped out of my recall of the situation that happened today and shrugged my shoulders.
"Could have been better." I muttered as I sat and watched everyone eat dinner. Chris insisted that I sit with the family at the dinner table, whether I eat or not.
She stared at me with intense eyes and I knew she wanted more of an explanation, so I sighed and gave in.
"My teachers are okay, and I met a lot of new people." I said, sounding bored. I looked in the empty seat across the table where Kyle usually sat and glanced next to me at the bare and empty seat where Daniel sits during meals and wondered where they were.
"Did you have any problems with your 'eating habits'?" Kelly wondered. My heart sank as I thought about when I dropped my book bag and the bottle fell out, and my heart sank even more when I recalled Caden, the person I just met holding the bottle in his hands, examining it.
"Nope. No problems at all." I lied. I felt bad for lying but I didn't want Kelly to worry about me all the time. She shook her head. "Well I'm glad you had an okay first day." She said with a smile.
After dinner I helped clean the kitchen and headed up to my room to get ready for bed. I grabbed my pajamas and slowly dragged my feet to my bathroom. I closed the door and noticed my reflection in the mirror. I didn't look as tired as a I felt, surprisingly I looked pretty good. I chuckled at that thought.
I slipped into my pj's and quickly brushed my teeth; eager to get to bed. When I threw my white sun dress in the corner of my room where my hamper was, I fell onto my bed; feeling my soft covers against my tense muscles.
My eyes slowly began to drift away, creating the bright moon that shone through my green curtains to fade away. Then I slipped into the pit of darkness.
--
The rest of the week went by the same as the first day; slow and boring. Except me and Collin weren't completely ignoring each other; we talked every now and then and exchanged our thoughts during class. I didn't have any more problems with my 'drinking habits' like the first day, which is because Clarice and Jack are helping and reminding me.
You better pay attention. Mrs. Smith is thinking about calling on you. She thinks your not paying attention. Collin's deep voice rang in my head. I snapped out of my trance and focused on the teacher. She was glaring at me, but turned her attention to another student after she noticed I was looking.
Thanks. I thought dully. Me and Collin have been arguing about the littlest things, like an old married couple. We don't mean to do it, just one minute were talking and then all of a sudden we just begin to argue.
The bell rang, allowing us to pack up and head to the lunch room. "I hope you all have a great weekend. It's been a great first week." Mrs. Smith yelled over the talkative voices and the rustling of papers.
I slipped my messenger bag onto my shoulder and walked out the door knowing Collin would be there waiting for me against the wall like he always did. He bounced off the wall and began to walk next to me.
"Your welcome." He muttered under his breath. His pace quickened and I began to fall behind so he grabbed my hand, but we didn't lock our fingers with each other like we did before. This type of holding hands was a 'friendly hand hold', so I sighed.
As we entered the lunch room, we routinely walked in the lunch line so Collin could feed his growing self. He packed his tray full of food, enough to feed a family of four. My tray only consisted of an apple and a bottle of water, which was actually Collin's. I was holding it because it wouldn't fit on his tray.
After we paid and walked to our table, we sat down in the two seats we sat in since the first day. "Hey Collin, hey Tori." Clarice said with enthusiasm. Everyone muttered a 'hello', which I gave a smile in return and they quickly carried on their conversation again that they started before we sat down.
The silence between me and Collin was becoming unbearable. But it seems like everything I say he disapproves and we then begin to argue. Something is bothering him, but I know this wasn't the time to ask, so instead I got the nerve to start a conversation.
"So Collin, what are your plans for the weekend?" I turned to look at him, which he was stuffing his face at the moment but he slowed his chewing and slowly glanced at me.
His dark eyebrows turned downward as he continued to chew, and I began to feel all eyes on us. Everyone at the table I'm sure was as shocked as Collin was right now. They have known something was going on between us for a while and how we haven't really had any big conversations, so this was a shocker.
He cleared his throat before he answered. "Umm," He hesitated, still unsure of the situation. "I'm working with Mike, and probably Daniel too. And I have a history project I'll be doing also." He finished with a sigh but continued to eat.
Everything seemed to have become quickly awkward so I kept my gaze on the table, not wanting to look up and see the shocked faces.
Just when I thought it would never end the bell rang, which caused relief to wash over me. I grabbed my bag, threw it over my shoulder and waited for Collin to return from throwing away his trash.
We walked to our fourth period in silence, so that told me that starting the awkward conversation was for nothing. But when we reached the door to our Zoology class, I stopped Collin before he walked inside, which wasn't a very easy thing to do since I'm half his size.
"Collin I wanted to talk to you." My voice sounded uneven, but I knew this was the right thing to do.
His face was dull and expressionless, but I could tell he didn't want to talk from the way he was standing and how he had his arms crossed. But I continued anyway.
"Is something wrong?" I continued quickly so he wouldn't get mad at that question. "It seems like every time we try to have a conversation with each other we just end up arguing." I stood casually, waiting for an answer.
"We had a conversation at lunch." He stated dryly. He leaned back against the wall and propped one of his legs up against it also. He was showing me that he didn't feel like dealing with this right now, but I didn't care; I wanted answers.
"That was not a conversation, so don't bring that up." I jumped slightly, and came back into reality as the last bell rang. The hallways were empty and I could hear Mr. Stafford already starting his lesson.
I sighed. "Well since your not going to be mature about this, then I guess we'll have to wait to talk till you grow up." I looked towards the ground, not wanting to look at his masculine, but gentle face anymore.
I opened the door and walked in which caused Mr. Stafford to stop his lesson, I looked up and noticed the amused faces staring at me and the door when it opened again as Collin walked in. The class broke out into 'Oo's, and Ah's', also some chuckles. I then figured out what they were talking about so I quickly gave Mr. Stafford an apologetic smile as I rushed to my seat in the back and sank into it.
"Collin, just quickly have a seat so I can return to my lesson." Mr. Stafford didn't wait for a reply from Collin; he just continued his lesson. In the corner of my eye I saw Collin take his seat, which was unfortunately right next to me. I wanted to say something, like a sorry, but it wasn't my fault that we couldn't keep a conversation without it becoming an argument.
The rest of the period went by without an apology from him, not even a single thought. I knew something was bothering him, so I figured I could go and talk to Mike this weekend, maybe even Daniel.
I got up from my seat as the bell rang and noticed Collin was already gone, and this time I knew he wasn't waiting for me. I walked out the door and sure enough he wasn't there, which I was a little disappointed but I knew I should let him calm down.
"Victoria!" I stopped in my tracks and turned to see Alex and his three friends, Chris and John rushing towards me. I haven't really talked to them since the first day of school, I only said a few 'hellos' and gave them a few waves every now and then.
"Hey Alex, what's up?" I asked, trying to hide the irritation. All three gathered around me, to close for comfort; with matching smiles.
"Well my parents are out of town this weekend, and I planned a 'back to school' party. Sooo, I was wondering if you would like to come." He was enthusiastic and was slightly bouncing on his heels waiting for an answer from me.
"Well," I hesitated. I was really thinking about the pros and cons and wondering if I should really go to this party. I wouldn't be allowed to tell anyone, and if any of them found out, I would be in big trouble.
"Sure, it sounds like fun." I answered, sounding enthusiastic myself. Alex's smile somehow grew bigger, and his eyes lit up.
"Do you want me to pick you up?" He asked. I didn't really think about the ride situation and I know that if I asked Daniel or anyone to give me a ride, they would investigate.
"That would be great." My voice wasn't as enthusiastic about getting a ride from someone I really didn't know, but I was thriving for adventure. "You want me to tell you how to get there now, or later?" I asked.
His smile turned into a half smile, "I kinda already know where you live." He admitted. I was shocked, and I know my face looked it also because his words came out in a rush. "No, no it's not what you think. I found out that your brother was Daniel which is my brothers friend. I have been to your house before." His voice quieted towards the end, probably because my expression didn't change.
My mouth opened to say something, but I was lost for words. Should I trust somebody I hardly know? I thought to myself. Maybe he's a good guy...
"Okay, well what time will you pick me up?" I asked, my voice still uneven; making me sound unsure. He thought about it for a moment but smiled and stated, "Seven." I nodded my head, and saw the hallway was cleared out and I knew the last bell was about to ring.
"Well see you tonight then." I muttered, before walking to my fifth period.
--
Collin didn't show up for fifth or sixth, he wasn't even on the bus. As I was walking up the drive way, I was thinking of the possible reasons why he wasn't there for fifth or sixth. Was it because of me and what I said before we walked into class? No, he's not that sensitive. Maybe he wasn't feeling well so he went home. Or maybe Mike called him out of school for something. I started to run out of reasons as I walked up the front porch and walked into the house.
"Hello, is anyone home?" I took off my flip flops by the door and walked to the kitchen but not before I peaked into the dining room, which there was nobody. I gazed in the empty kitchen, wondering where everyone was.
"Boo." A deep voice muttered in my ear from behind me. I jumped at the sound of Kyle's voice and swiftly turned around.
"Jerk." I snapped, while smacking him against his arm. Daniel and Mike appeared behind him; both were chuckling.
"How was your first week at school?" Daniel asked while sitting down. I tried to think of the last time I saw them all, which I realized it hasn't been since Monday. Every time I wake up their gone and they don't come back till late at night when I'm asleep, so I never get to see him.
"Fine. I met a lot of new people." I stated, sounding bored. Mike sat down in a seat across from Daniel which was the seat closest to me.
"How was Collin all week? Surprisingly he hasn't been sent home for fighting." Mike chuckled, but stopped as Collin entered the kitchen with crossed arms. I glanced at him, which his expression was the same as before; dull.
"He was fine." I shrugged my shoulders. "He showed me around and introduced me to other werewolves, and he helped me with my 'eating'." I lied about the last part. He didn't help me at all, it was all Clarice and Jack but I was trying to make Collin look good.
"Well good for you Collin." Mike proudly encouraged, "I didn't know you had it in you." Collin rolled his eyes and headed out of the kitchen, showing that he had no interest of talking about school, so I figured that now was a good time to bring up the 'social get together' since Collin wasn't here to object.
"Do you think I could go over to a friends house?" I asked almost too quietly but I knew they were able to hear. Daniel's dark eyebrows went downward, partially covering his hazel eyes, so I knew I would have to explain every little detail.
"Some friends I met want to get together to celebrate getting through the first week of school." I explained. His expression didn't change so I sighed and continued to lie. "It's a movie night. People are bringing popcorn and candy, and we're watching scary movies."
He looked towards Mike and I knew they were having a conversation about this in their minds; leaving me out of it.
"What time and where is this 'movie night'?" He asked as he shifted in his chair; sitting casually.
"Eight. It's at this kid Alex's house and he's coming to pick me up." I clarified. I added the last part because I knew he was going to ask about the whole ride situation later.
He nodded in agreement, in which Mike did also. "Okay, that's fine. What time will you be home?" I hesitated. I really didn't think of when I was coming home so I knew I had to think of something quick so they didn't get suspicious. "Eleven." I sort of said it as a question more than an answer, but he seemed to have not noticed because he nodded his head.
"Thanks." I joyfully expressed. I smiled and quickly ran out the kitchen, heading up to my room. As I reached the stairs, I saw Collin in the corner of my eye watching t.v. in the living room, but I ignored him and ran to my room; vampire speed.
I opened my closet door, wondering what was the perfect thing to wear tonight. I wanted to be comfortable but cute. So I grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a cute white tank top that had laced flower designs all over it. Perfect. I thought joyfully.
I slipped into my outfit and jumped in the mirror, excited about actually having other friends instead of Daniel's group. The outfit fit perfectly so I smiled and fixed my wavy brown hair with a brush and some hairspray. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and it read: Six.
Only one more hour. I thought as I found my foundation and mascara. I quickly put it on, slipped on some brown flip flops and headed out the door.
I walked past Faith's door and the music was blaring; she was singing at the top of her lungs. Abigail and Andrew were surrounded by a million toys but they were fighting over this one single toy so I swiftly walked past their door so they wouldn't stop me for my opinion on who gets what. I walked down the stairs, bouncing gracefully on my heels on each step. I heard the loud, obnoxious guys downstairs clearly talking about a subject I shouldn't get into; it involved a lot of arguing. So I slipped past the kitchen door at vampire speed and fell onto the couch in the living room, not noticing a certain someone.
"Excuse me." His deep voice cried over the loud television. I glanced in his direction but didn't make eye contact. "Hmm?" I effortlessly said.
He got up from under me-- which I was laying on top of him --and sat in the chair across the room. I shifted myself to where I was sitting up right and was able to see his face.
"Where did you go during fifth and sixth?" I asked; interrupting his show. His hazel eyes rolled and he looked at me with the same dullness as he did earlier.
"I went home. I didn't feel good." He muttered before turning back to his show. I didn't bother to ask him any more questions and was about to get up to go to the kitchen but he stopped me with a question of his own. "Where are you going?"
I hesitated. "To a get together."
"With who?" He asked; starting to get nosy. I rolled my eyes, but told him the truth.
"Alex, Chris, John and a whole bunch of people." I explained.
His dark eye brows slid downward, covering half of his hazel eyes.
"Hmm, a get together with Alex." He said, not convinced. I got up from the couch, not wanting to deal with anything and headed for the loud kitchen.
"Your ridiculous. I'm the one who killed the blonde one!" Kyle shouted, but they all quieted as I entered the kitchen.
I opened the refrigerator and grabbed one my bottles; drinking it so I didn't have to bring one tonight.
"Why was Collin gone during fifth and sixth?" I asked curiously. Mike's gaze from the table turned towards me; startled by my question.
"Well, don't tell Collin but all of us in the pack are thinking of adding Collin to the pack early. We picked him up from school today and he trained with us and he's doing really really well so we might add him before he graduates." Mike explained.
I threw my bottle into the open trash can as I thought about how Collin has been really dull and angry lately so I had to know. "Collin has been acting strange lately. Is he okay?"
Daniel wanted to answer this one, "Collin is going through... some changes. We think the reason why he's so different now is because he's quickly becoming one of us, he quickly developing. That's why we might have him join our pack before graduation." I nodded; understanding the whole reason why he's been so different.
I turned to the oven clock and it told me that I had five minutes before Alex picked me up. "Okay, I have to go. He's going to pick me up soon." I started walking out of the kitchen but a large hand touched my shoulder.
"Tori, don't do anything I wouldn't do." The corner of Kyle's mouth slid upward into a smirk. "Which is what?" I laughed and his smirk vanished as I bolted out of the kitchen and out of the house; at vampire speed.
Haha, I'm good. I proudly declared. I began walking faster as a dark green four-door truck pulled up at the end of my driveway and Alex's head came into view as he rolled down the window.
"Hey Tori!" He yelled from the truck. I waved and my walking turned into a light jog; not wanting him to wait.
"Hey Alex." I smiled and slammed the truck door shut while he rolled up the automatic window. "Thanks for picking me up." I thanked.
He started to drive down the long winding road that tall green trees surrounded. We were going so fast that the trees blended all together making it look like a solid green and brown wall.
"No problem. I'm just glad you could go." A smile grew upon his face causing me to smile in return. But his eyebrows quickly covered up half his eyes, looking as if he was concentrating and his smile vanished. "So did your boyfriend say you could go or did you not tell him." He wondered, and I knew he was talking about Collin when he said 'boyfriend'.
"First of all, he's not my boyfriend. Second, I told him I was going to a get together with you, Chris, John and other people." His expression changed, and he was about to say something but I continued. "He didn't care that I was going. Were sort of not talking to each other." My voice quieted as I said the last part which I'm sure he could tell that I was upset, so he kept his gaze on the road.
We didn't say anything else after that, which made it a little awkward, but he soon made it better again.
"We here." I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was excited about this party. It gave me confidence that this party was going to be awesome and that I'll have a great time even though I didn't know anyone.
Breaking off from the long main road was another long dirt road that led us to a large, two story house with a white picket fence and a large garden with every flower anyone could think of. I smiled at the sight.
"You like?" He asked. "My mother designed it." I nodded but was still in awe at the sight of the amazing house.
We pulled in front and he turned off the car. "Tonight is going to be fun." He muttered before getting out of the car. I followed.
We walked up a few steps and in between a few columns that was holding up the upstairs balcony. He opened the unlocked door and revealed sort of the same layout as my house but everything was just bigger, and there were just a few more rooms. We walked past the stairs and headed towards the back of the house to a large door that opened to a giant porch and pool with a diving board at one end and a small slide at the other.
I heard Alex chuckle beside me. I'm guessing it was because my mouth was hanging open; in shock.
"Wow." was all I could say. It was absolutely amazing. Back behind the pool a small bar was set up with beach, and camping chairs and tiki torches surrounding it. A table off to the side on the porch had all different kinds of chips and soda and desserts.
"You did this all by yourself?" I asked, sounding a little shocked. In the background I heard a faint noise—that only I could hear—of people talking and car doors slamming; telling me that the party was about to start.
He laughed, "Why you don't think a guy like me can plan a party?" He didn't wait for an answer. "People are here. I'll be right back." He slid his phone up to his ear and mumbled things I didn't care to hear and headed into the house.
I walked over to one of the chairs seated around a pretty glass table and waited; unsure of the party that was starting. The sun was setting, which casted an orange glow over everything that didn't have a tree to cover it up, and the tiki torches lit up everything out in the lawn that the porch light couldn't light up.
The sliding glass door opened and a group of people walked through. A lot of them I knew from my classes and others I have seen around school.
"Hey Victoria!" A girl from my second period ran up to me and hugged me. "Hey, Becca." She released me from her hug but didn't walk away.
"I didn't know you were coming." she said sounding a little shocked. I sighed, "I need a social life so I figured that coming to this party was the first step." I muttered while looking around to see if I knew anyone else. She started to laugh, "Yeah, I guess your right." Someone sitting behind the bar out in the lawn called her name, so she turned to me and smiled. "I got to go, but hopefully we can talk later?" She asked, but I knew we wouldn't be able to talk later either.
I nodded my head, "Sure thing." She gave me a fast hug and jogged over to the bar.
More and more people poured out from Alex's house, some in groups and some by themselves. There was so many people outside, I thought that maybe half the school was here. A lot of guys were already in the pool, diving off the diving board or sliding down the slide, also wrestling in pool. Girls who didn't want to have their hair ruined so soon were off to the side watching and giggling to each other about them.
I decided to head into the house where music was blaring from and where people were laughing and where some were arguing. As soon as I walked in, the smoke in the house seemed to have surrounded me. It was hard enough to see practically in the dark but with smoke too, it made it even worse.
When I knew I made it to the living room, it was extremely crowded. People were dancing, bouncing to the song's beat, others were in the corner smoking and drinking, claiming they saw flying pigs. I rolled my eyes and headed for the kitchen thinking that no one would be there; but I was wrong. A group of guys were holding a can of beer, but they were started to get into an argument so I didn't want to be apart of that mess so I headed out of the kitchen and out of the house.
Stepping outside onto the porch, the fresh air hit me like a ton of bricks. It was good to get out of the house.
More people were in the pool, including the girls who were off the side, giggling and talking earlier. When I was about to sit down, I heard a few screams and a couple people rushed out of the house. Some laughing—clearly drunk—and some with shocked looks on their faces. Finally a boy from my sixth period class told me what happened.
"Josh got hit in the head with a golf club because he was dancing with Cory's girlfriend, and now theres a big fight." He explained but he quickly broke into laughter while walking off.
The porch got really crowded as people rushed to get away from the nonsense, which caused me to be pushed into the back corner. The music from inside the house got louder so it trailed outside which the group of people who were standing were now beginning to dance. I didn't want to be in the middle of it so I pushed through the crowd of sweaty people and stood by the pool, watching the chaos. Maybe I should leave. I thought. I could run home. I turned towards the woods, thinking of the possibility of running the whole way home, and I cringed at the thought.
But something in the distance caught my eye. I walked to the edge of the porch to get a better look and noticed lights stuck in the ground, exposing a dirt path heading into the thick woods. My curiosity got the best of me and without anyone noticing I walked to the path and began walking it. The dirt path was clear of roots and large tree trunks so I had no problem walking it. I could see nothing but darkness surrounding me as I gazed into the woods. The light wind created the leaves on the ground to dance in the air and the trees to rustle against each other. My wavy hair danced in the wind also, blinding me from where I was headed, so I twisted it around and laid it on my left shoulder.
After just a few minutes of walking from the porch, the lights ended but the path continued. Maybe they haven't finished putting up lights yet. I wondered. I began to realize a faint noise that sounded like a small river so I decided that walking a little bit more wouldn't hurt.
It only took me several steps to realize that I was on a small bridge that was over a small flowing river. The lights that seemed too far away to cast light where I was standing showed me that I was wrong. I could see a lot from the faint glow, but if I went over the bridge that's where the darkness would take over. So I paused in the middle and stopped to take in the sounds that surrounded me. The wind howled, the small slushing sound of the river slapping against the rocks, and the leaves rustling whenever the river swept them off the ground. It's so...relaxing... I wanted to stay out here forever, the sounds all blending together eased my mind.
But something was out of place; not right. It wasn't the wind nor the river, it was twig snapping. My head snapped in the direction of the lighted path and a dark figure was walking towards me but the shadow paused.
I froze. The small faint of light shone enough to only give a few features of the shadows face. I wasn't for sure, but I still was frozen in place.
Aidan. I thought.
Yeah sorry... a cliff hanger. But if alot of people review I'll update tomorrow, and that's a promise! So go and click the review button and review!
Please and thank you!
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